Answering Kids' Apologetics Questions

Lenny,

I have been reading your notes on the existence of God, what to say to an
atheist, how can a loving God send people to hell, etc... Let me start by
saying that I have found them informative.

However what prompted me to look for such information in the first place
were my two children's questions. They have all of the above and more and I
was looking for a simple way to explain things to them. My son is 12 and my
daughter is 7. Suffice to say that your way of explaining things would not
work when dealing with even a 12 year old much less a 7 year old. Their
mother is a backslidden Christian and they are being bombarded with the
untruths and confusion the enemy brings forth in people who do not have on
their armor (Eph 6).

I need to know how to explain things like these in such a way that my
children will understand. If you could help I would be most appreciative, or
at least provide me some names of resources that address these issues at an
adolescent/Pre-adolescent level.

Thanks you very much in advance!

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for writing and for your wonderful question. I can
imagine it must be a terribly difficult situation you're in. However, I
also believe that Christians must equip their children to answer some of
these objections. Kids today are being confronted with ideas and beliefs
that are antagonistic to the Christian worldview at a younger and younger
age, so it is imperative that we are able to help them to know not only
what they believe, but also why they believe it.

In discussing concepts like the existence of God with young people,
there are many basic arguments that are valid yet still simple enough for
them to grasp fully. Social scientists tell us that abstract reasoning
skills don't fully develop until after the onset of puberty. This doesn't
mean that you cannot utilize a logical approach when dealing with tough
questions, though. Mostly, it just requires boiling down the arguments
into their most basic ideas. Kids will get a strong foundation this way
and when they become more interested in investigating these issues for
themselves, they will find the process familiar and reasonable.

Does God Exist?

As an example, let's take the existence of God. We can show that God
must exist, since we see the universe getting older. Scientists observe
that all the planets are slowing down. The universe is like a giant alarm
clock that was wound up and now is moving slower as it unwinds. The
question is, who wound up the universe?

Another idea that's even simpler is William Paley's design argument.
Paley asked that if he were to be walking on a road and found a watch
laying in the dirt, and he looked at all the gears driving the hands and
the glass cover, what would be more reasonable for him to believe; that
the wind and the rain and the elements just happened to come together to
form this watch? Or is it more reasonable to believe that the watch was
made by someone with intelligence who designed it? We see how the world
works together everywhere - the flowers need the bees to pollinate, the
animals need the plants to live and the plants need the animals.
Everything is balanced just right.

Other Types Of Arguments

Another type of argument we can study would be the moral argument for
God's existence. Dr. J.P. Moreland gives us a great example in his book Love
Your God With All Your Mindwhen he relates a conversation with
his daughter. When Allison was in the sixth grade, she relayed a
discussion they had in school about bigotry and stereotypes. Dr. Moreland
asked his daughter "Why do you think all people should be valued
equally?" His daughter replied, "Because they're all the
same." Dr. Moreland responded that people are most certainly are not
the same. Some are faster, some are slower, some are taller, some are
smarter; there are all kinds of differences. He then asked again what she
thought it was that makes people equally valuable?

The reason people should all be treated with equal dignity and respect
is the fact that each one is created in the image of God and has value
because of their creator. Being made in God's image is the very essence of
being human (for more on this, see my article "How
is Man Created in God's Image?"). It is this Christian idea where
the civil rights movement has its roots. Without God, we're all happy
accidents where (according to Darwinian views) only the stronger, faster,
smarter should survive. It takes God to give us all equal worth.

Questions like why would God send people to hell can be similarly
answered. Most kids understand the idea of people being punished for doing
the wrong things. What's more, they will also grasp the idea that if God
didn't punish someone who sins, it would be wrong on God's part. The
concept of God being just is a natural one. Kids get it instinctively.

I hope these examples will give you a foothold on which to build your
discussions with your children. There are several books available that can
also help you to make ideas about God more understandable. For younger
children, you may want to start out with the Family Nights series
of books through Focus on the Family. They give a really good approach to
talking with your kids about Biblical issues and the activities they
suggest are engaging and fun. For those kids in the teenage years, I can
recommend a few books: